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Really?

If I would have the option, I would say "No" against the motion:
- comparing Valve with their internal products with a company that resells other software is misleading at best: Valve ported their games on Linux, not others. They encourage other to do the same, yet Valve does not make the dirty work.
- porting a game to Linux is hard, if is not using a layer of emulation like DOS-Box or Wine. The reason is that many old games are with a lot of assembly x86 code that access hardware fairly directly. This code is hard to be understood and hard to make sure if it is written in a portable way. Also many companies in games did had quality related issues for many many years: speed prevails over code quality. John Carmack states this about software in year 2011, what about software written 15 years ago!?
- GOG may not have access to all software when they pack the game, they may need just to patch the launcher and to fix specific installations issues in their QA part. I have bought Septerra Core, and some issues appear at random with Win7 (that throws you to desktop)

A solution it would make if game companies after 5 years would make the core of the engine opensource, so people can port their game (exe and .dlls) to another platform(s)/hardware. GOG they fight for distribution freedom (no DRM) but not for OSS per se, so there is a long long way to make the software accessible on other platform (even be it Linux, iPad, Android or such).

If I would have the option, I would say "No" against the motion:
- comparing Valve with their internal products with a company that resells other software is misleading at best: Valve ported their games on Linux, not others. They encourage other to do the same, yet Valve does not make the dirty work.
- porting a game to Linux is hard, if is not using a layer of emulation like DOS-Box or Wine. The reason is that many old games are with a lot of assembly x86 code that access hardware fairly directly. This code is hard to be understood and hard to make sure if it is written in a portable way. Also many companies in games did had quality related issues for many many years: speed prevails over code quality. John Carmack states this about software in year 2011, what about software written 15 years ago!?
- GOG may not have access to all software when they pack the game, they may need just to patch the launcher and to fix specific installations issues in their QA part. I have bought Septerra Core, and some issues appear at random with Win7 (that throws you to desktop)

A solution it would make if game companies after 5 years would make the core of the engine opensource, so people can port their game (exe and .dlls) to another platform(s)/hardware. GOG they fight for distribution freedom (no DRM) but not for OSS per se, so there is a long long way to make the software accessible on other platform (even be it Linux, iPad, Android or such).

Don't see how the first point is relevant. GOG belongs to CD Projekt Red who also owns CD Projekt who are the developer of The Witcher games so they do have internal products. That's not the point, however, and that brings me onto your second point. Nobody is asking anybody to port games, as many games that GOG sells already exist for Linux, and wouldn't need to be ported in their entirety. GOG isn't being asked to do what Valve is doing. If I misunderstood your points, then I apologize, but I am not entirely sure what you are trying to argue, so I just retorted with what I assumed you were trying to say.

Don't see how the first point is relevant. GOG belongs to CD Projekt Red who also owns CD Projekt who are the developer of The Witcher games so they do have internal products. That's not the point, however, and that brings me onto your second point. Nobody is asking anybody to port games, as many games that GOG sells already exist for Linux, and wouldn't need to be ported in their entirety. GOG isn't being asked to do what Valve is doing. If I misunderstood your points, then I apologize, but I am not entirely sure what you are trying to argue, so I just retorted with what I assumed you were trying to say.

Hi FutureSuture, you're right! I've misunderstood initial pledge and I agree fully that packing of Linux available binaries are both more convenient and a reason to not hack around things.
So, yes I agree with it. I've misread and I'm sorry for my original message!

So Project Eternity by Obsidian Entertainment is currently being funded via Kickstarter, and a Linux version will be made once 2.2 million US dollars have been pledged. The current pledge lies at 1.65 million US dollars, and the Mac OS version has been secured. Now take a look at the following, taken from http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...y/posts/311594

Originally Posted by Obsidian Entertainment

DRM Free Option

You asked and we are delivering. In conjunction with GOG, we are going to offer a DRM free version of the game for our Kickstarter Backers. When the campaign ends, you will be able to choose whether you would like a key from GOG or Steam. For our Mac friends, we are still working on a DRM free option, since GOG does not currently support the Mac. Oh, and the great guys at GOG are having a special right now on all of the great Infinity Engine games, so check that out as well.

So this game will definitely support Mac OS, and at the rate that the game is being funded at, will most certainly support Linux as well. The game will also be making its way to GOG because of GOG's policies on DRM. GOG, however, still doesn't support any operating systems outside of Windows, and with more and more games supporting both Mac OS and Linux as well, this is becoming troublesome. The guys at Obsidian Entertainment believe this as well. “For our Mac friends, we are still working on a DRM free option, since GOG does not currently support the Mac.” I do believe GOG needs to seriously consider expanding as several GOGers are now getting their games from sources that support more than just Windows, and this trend is only going to become stronger as multiplatform support increases.

Please, GOG. You've done so much good by choosing to spit in the face of DRM and regional pricing, among other things. Don't wait till it's too late.

CD Projekt RED and GOG.com Special Event: 18 October 2012 at 18:00 GMT

New Games, New OSes, Cyberpunk® Announcements, and Something Special for Witcher 2 Modders--and more!--will all be announced at this live webcast Special Event.

The developers of The Witcher franchise CD Projekt RED studio and GOG.com the DRM-free, digital distribution platform will host a Special Event on the 18th of October at 18:00 (GMT). The whole event will be streamed online on facebook.com/thewitcher or www.gog.com.

During the conference the developer studio will announce the official name of their futuristic new IP, based on the classic pen & paper RPG Cyberpunk®. More exclusive details about the project will be shown.

Not only console and PC users should tune in for the conference. Mac Computer users should be prepared for a bunch of thrilling announcements including more information about the upcoming release of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for OS X.

Speaking of new operating systems, GOG.com will also be announcing that it is bringing the best PC games from throughout history to a new operating system. That’s not all of the news that GOG.com has planned for the Special Event, however: they will also be showcasing several new releases as well as giving gamers a unique chance to get some of the greatest classic games ever made for a literally unbeatable price.

Remember – the live stream from the CD Projekt RED and GOG.com Special Event starts October 18th, 18:00 (GMT). See you then!

So Mac OS support is definitely coming it seems, but what's this? There's a another new operating system GOG is planning to support? Judging from the thread, the new operating system will likely be Windows 8, but many are still hoping that it will actually be Linux. GOG is known to support Windows, so supporting a new version of Windows wouldn't really be that big in terms of news, but then again, stating official support is necessary too I suppose. Still, Linux is moving up in the gaming world judging from all the Humble Bundles, Kickstarters, general indie attention, along with Valve and Steam support, while Windows 8 is getting a lot of flak. With GOG taking on more and more indie games, are they realizing that they are losing some sales due to people buying games from sources that offer games for all three major platforms?

How come? I've been trying to lend attention to this matter for months now, knowing that the Linux community is a passionate and well connected one. Would be great if more people passed this around! If there are several million users of Linux, it cannot be that hard!

How come? I've been trying to lend attention to this matter for months now, knowing that the Linux community is a passionate and well connected one. Would be great if more people passed this around! If there are several million users of Linux, it cannot be that hard!